Monday, January 25, 2010

"No Service" to "Maine Cooncats"

Funny thing; I can never "be out of service" one day I'll just drop dead. You cant make a dead horse go any further. And yet when it is time to say; "give me my money back for interuption in service" you can almost hear the accountants making a big gafaw and snarky pshaws.Raccoons carry lepto which is a serious disease. Nobody told me about this, until after I befriended a pride of pups (young raccoons) who had lost their mother. The baby raccoons (pups?) purred like kittens; they were adorable! I did not know this about raccoons, that they are very similar to cats. Nor did I know that raccoons can mate with cats; thus the huge Maine Cooncat. Maine cooncats are beautiful cats but I have been told they are partially wild. These beauties must have their freedom of the outdoors and they do not domesticate at all well. Definitely, I am sure one of my cats is a cooncat, the colour being so unsual, but she is so tiny. Unfortunately raccoons fight like polecats and carry rabies. Again, this I did not know until after I nursed the darling raccoon pups. Nor did I realize that other raccoons get jealous of other raccoon babies and kill them. Noted this "nature's wrath" after I raised a bunch of robin chicks that were being pecked to death by their mother. Nature is not always kind, this I realize now. After watching this event I did not have the same respect for these or Blue Jays that devour other chicks.After the fiasco of trying to help nature, I wonder if somehow I should just let nature take it's course no matter how cruel it appears to be at the time. Again, trying to "save" animals does not work out for the best. One man was trying to save a turtle from a roadway accident. The darn thing was a snapping turtle and nearly bit his hand. I did not know how high snapping turtles can jump! Sad to note that coyotes and other raccoons have very vindictive natures and kill other defenseless animals. Not at all fuzzy, furry and airbrushed like in the Disney movies. I have learned my lesson!"Let sleeping dogs lay" and "let nature take its course"*!(*old adages).How did I get from "no service" to "maine cooncats"? Sorry for getting "off-topic"!:)

18 comments:

I am sorry, but if you are going to type on a computer please have a clue what you are talking about.Raccoons and cats do not breed. Please tell me you were joking when you said that is how we have the maine coon cat?

Raccoons do not CARRY lepto, or rabies, or anything else. Like you, me, or our pet, they must be infected first to get it.

They do not kill each other as you imply. Please get your facts remotely straight before flying off thru cyber space, ok?

fyi, raccoons can not at any time mate with cats. Maine coon cats are not part raccoon. Also, while raccoons can catch rabies if exposed to the disease, they do not all carry rabies. They do kill other smaller animals as this is their wild instinct to FEED themselves. Please educate yourself before spreading this misinformation.

This was meant to be silly right? You do know that a maine coon cat is a breed of cat and not the result of raccoons and cats breeding...? You can find some FAQ here about the breed including "A number of attractive legends surround its origin. A wide-spread (though biologically impossible) belief is that it originated from matings between semi-wild, domestic cats and raccoons."http://fanciers.com/breed-faqs/maine-coon-faq.html

Raccoons do carry rabies fact. Maybe not all the time, however, the do carry leptospirosis. This is true. Any wild animal, like raccoons and skunks carry rabies...check with your health unit. As far as pairing of cats with raccoons study DARWIN. Check out the genetic similarity between raccoons and "Coon" cats. Then get back to me. Again, your are always allowed to doubt facts; just get YOURS straight!

ps I have noted how raccoons fight with cats. They, like all wild animals, and animals in general are TERRITORIAL. Usually this happens in a big way in the spring mating season. I do not know how many farm cats we have lost to raccoons. They are sweet animals when domesticated. I love raccoons, unless they are wild and mad with disease. It is not fun to hear cats being harmed by raccoons that may be trying to defend their turf. Whether or not they were trying to pair with cats, it might be a rare phenomena but I have noted this in the field. It is how new species are formed, and to study wild creatures in "the field" is not the same as watching hand raised raccoons. It is a warning to people to be careful; they DO at time carry RABIES. Sure they look sweet, but when you get sick from lepto, which I DID dont say I DIDNT warn you. ps YOU are filing false info by saying all RACCOONS NEVER CARRY RABIES. This is false. Raccoons can and do carry rabies, and this is the danger. Please do not pick up wild raccoons unless you are a trained NATURALIST unless you want to get really sick and possiblly die. Check with your health unit. I am correct on this one!

I can send you pictures of wild coons and cats eating side by side, I see it nearly every night. Same coons walk right by our often accidently left-open chicken coop. You truly are generalizing is all I and others seem to be saying here. You are right, they are wild animals and should be left alone, but they do NOT CARRY RABIES (or lepto) unless they have been infected, this applies to ALL mammals that are not vaccinated for rabies. Raccoons are NO different. And in some areas the raccoons are vaccinated by oral rabies vaccine baits. Even when infected, rabies is not contagious unless the animal is in the encephalytic phase (exhibiting clinical signs, or will be in a couple days). There a hundred places you can pick up Lepto. If any animal has it they are sick with it.Just please be cautious when stereotyping, ok? Once upon a time "all gay men had AIDS", remember? ;)

chiccoreal, The correct term is "wildlife rehabilitator", legally permitted thru state Fish and Wildlife Commission, to possess & care for wild RVS animals, not a naturalist, which is one who enjoys outdoor nudity, as in nudist camps!The chances of a raccoon giving you rabies from picking it up is rare. If it has been infected, you MIGHT get it if it BITES you! And if it does you can get post exposure shots!As for the origin of Maine Coon Cats, try to determine fact from folklore on that issue. Cats & coons can and do co-exist peacefully...many coons feed from cat food bowls left on decks/porches at night and eat right beside the cats without incident. They don't mate and are not going to create a new species!Perhaps you should do a great deal more research & study before you get online and make yourself appear silly.I am a rehabber of raccoons, for many years...never been sick from picking them up, or caring for them when they ARE sick or injured, and I certainly am not dead.

Naturalists are nudists? Maybe it is 70's thing! Wait til i tell the Ministry of "Natural" Resources? All joking aside. Good to make the public aware that the vector borne illnesses such as rabies and lepto are not deemed a threat in your area, and as you say you are not quite "dead" yet. Good to know! There are a lot of kittens (not pups?) needing your rehabilitation. I wonder why there are so many incidents of rabies in our area and usually the skunks are the culprits. Sometimes you hear of the odd raccoon contracting this deadly disease. If you did come across a rabid animal would you know what to do if you were bitten? The animal needs to be quarantined for a week (this is true of dogs not sure of raccoons) to make sure they do not have the disease. If they do, painful injections of anti-rabie gamma globulin must be started. It takes a week for an animal to perish (painfully) from this horrid disease. If the environment where you live is free from rabies, you may have a minimal chance of getting rabies, maybe little to nil. However, would you not want to take precautions just in case? You never watched Disney's "Old Yeller"? Very sad. :(

ps anonymous and raccoon rescue peeps: I'd LOVE to see the pics of the coons and cats eating together. My experience with coons on the farm was not a positive experience because the raccoons and cats would be up all night sparring (fighting). It was LOUD! The other raccoons seem to pick on the young kits when they were released. I am not sure if they made it or not. I had no idea wild raccoons could get so violent. I thought maybe they were sick? Is it natural for wild raccoons to eat other young kits and terrorize farm cats? I am sure there are some gentle raccoons, this just was not my experience! What was happening?

omg I am so glad to know that not all "Naturalists" are "Nudists" (although I am ok with this). please see http://www.biologists.com/web/other/naturalist/naturalist.html

are there nude naturalists? Seems biology and nudity may be connected somehow? Why debate this? If I am sending forth any misinformation; I DONT THINK SO. Ok maybe the Cooncat story...but really it IS an Urban Legend, and I guess it could happen (mitochondrial dna would prove whether or not cat/raccoon are biologically linked, just like they found out that Native Americans are related genetically to those of Chinese dissent).I still dont think I was spreading mistruths or fiction about raccoons being POSSIBLE carriers of rabies. It is a good warning to the public because there are dangers which only professional Wildlife Rehabilitative Specialists should handle. There definitely are risks in certain areas and it would be best to make the public aware of such risks, even if it is, in your opinion, over-guarded and thus biasing raccoons. The public health unit in our area is always putting ads in the paper and reporting of rabies cases on the radio because THE RISK IS REAL! DONT APPROACH A WILD ANIMAL WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE OF HOW TO PREVENT BITES, ETC. NOT SURE IF THE SALIVA CARRIES LEPTO or not. However, I would love this not to be an issue, however, in our neck of the woods, we must use caution over ignorance. Even if an animal is not exhibiting signs of rabies, eg foaming at the mouth, odd behaviour, they may be in the early stages and still CONTAGIOUS. Who is spreading false info now? The public must be made aware that there are risks when approaching or touching wild animals. Especially children. Of course, you as Rehab specialist for wildlife are aware of danger signs an animal would exhibit. Have you never come across a rabid animal? How lucky..there could always be that "off day". Hope you are at least wearing gloves!

Please note: any personal attacks against myself or anyone else is without merit and will not be published. For this reason, unless "Anonymous" can write with reason decorum, I will not be publishing the scathing personal attacks. Take and chill pill and then we can discuss this issue with CIVIL aplumb. Until then it will be IGGY time for any unwaranted and harassing comments.

Isnt it nice that Maine Coon cats could be descendants of the 10 foot high dinosaur? Given the fact our molecules are more like fungus than bacteria I would say, yes there may be a connection, how distant that connection is the question. And how far that distance in ancestry becomes so remote as to be impossible is also another Darwinian quantry. Please keep your polite quantries for DEBATE purposes only coming, I am sure there is a lot more to rail about on this most unlikely of debateable issues. I think I already stated "truth gets watered down" and "One's person's truth is another person's reason to cheat". Let's start at a truthful place where the Truthometer is on dignified; if not; there is no reason to take this issue into the fray. In other words; the topic doesnt really need to be hammered into the ground any longer. Time to put this issue to bed; thank-you. Unless of course you have direct dna evidence to prove that cooncats are not related in ANY WAY to raccoons lineage. Look at their similarity;cats and coons purrcats and coons preencats and coons are nocturnalcats and coons (well it goes on)of course these are all "supposition" and may not support the key scientific principles (what are they exactly) to be proven as EVIDENTIARY FACT. We want the facts, mam, just the facts. All is is conjecture until that time in the future when there is more evidence to prove otherwise. So the coon/raccoon cat issue is in the ebayance drawer for awhile, either gathering dust or more evidence. Remember; be polite than I will print your comments here! Kindness and manners help too!

excusez the typos, since the XToff virus attacked my computer and MY PERSONAL FREEDOMS have come UNDER ATTACK I am no longer able to COMMENT in any normal fashion; there are stop/gag mechanism on the KACKED and HACKED computer, making me victim to KEYBOARD freeze and go, and all kinds of absurd methods of power mongering via technology mavens with the pow'r sway. Who's to say in a few millenia these folks wont know the truth if it hit them in the remote access processor. I hope one day it does!

dissent should read descentreasonable decorum"a" chill pillguarantee/warantee where's the u in that? longer than a year longer than a day...hmmmm I seriously doubt anonymous could carry on this debate for a year or longer; no stamina!